CONCEPT OF CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE
In its quest for the effective implementation of its mandate, the Department of Correctional Services, has embarked on a flagship approach or centres of excellence to ensure optimal service delivery.
The establishment of centres of excellence should be viewed as a process of asp-mg to achieve excellence in the provision of correctional services, maintaining set standards, piloting best practices and benchmarking with similar systems guided by the provisions of the White Paper on Correctional Services and other prescripts
Goal
- The goal of the centre is to establish a sustainable services delivery point, by creating an environment for a holistic service delivery to an offender as required by the mandate, to ensure that the offender leaves as a productive law abiding citizen.
Objectives
- To test in different correctional centres the practical options for implementing the White Paper approach to rehabilitation in the context of safe, secure and humane environment.
- To implement the principles of unit management in order to improve supervision and interaction between personnel and offenders.
- To employ mechanism to improve compliance with legislation and policies and procedures
- To put measure in place to create a corruption free environment.
- To involve external stakeholders as partners in the rehabilitation of offenders.
- To improve the competencies of personnel through retraining, reorientation, in-service training, staff development and effective performance management.
- To align programmes with the provisions of the White Paper and ensure that they are informed by the needs of the offenders and prepare them for successful reintegration.
- To put monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to enable management to have early identification of problem areas.
- To set service level standards with clear performance indicators.
Implementation
The process of rolling out the White Paper to orientate personnel and external stakeholders began in 2003 and is ongoing.
- National Steering Committee has been established to coordinate, monitor implementation and report to the Commissioner and Executive.
- Regional Gommittee to facilitate the implementation and Report to the National Office.
- Identification of Centres
Correctional Centres have been identified in each region.
Plans are underway to conduct an audit of human, financial, facility and other resource needs.
Conclusion
- The Department of Correctional Services is vey large and complex. Cognizance is taken of the destabilizing factors such as overcrowding. It is envisaged that the centres of excellence will become models where excellence in service delivery can be optimized culminating in the ultimate roll-out to other Correctional Centres.